TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran on Monday confirmed there was an
"incident" between Iranian and U.S. ships but gave no details,
an Iranian news agency reported, after Washington said Iranian
vessels threatened their ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pentagon said five Iranian boats made aggressive
maneuvers and showed hostile intent against three U.S. Navy
ships on Saturday in the narrow entrance to the Gulf, a major
oil shipping route.

The Pentagon said the incident was serious. It described
the Iranian actions as "careless, reckless and potentially
hostile" and said Tehran should provide an explanation.

But Iran played down the incident saying it was not
unusual. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said
that, as in other cases, this "incident" was resolved when the
two sides identified each other.

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"The example that happened on Saturday was similar to
previous cases and is an ordinary and natural issue," Hosseini
told Iran's official IRNA news agency.

"This is an ordinary issue that happens for the two sides
every once in a while and after the identification of the two
sides the issue is resolved," he added without giving details.

The incident was the latest sign of tension between
Washington and Tehran, at odds over a range of issues from
Iran's nuclear program to U.S. allegations of Iranian support
for terrorism.

U.S. President George W. Bush is due to travel to the
Middle East this week on a trip he has said is partly aimed at
countering Iranian influence and what he has described as
Tehran's "aggressive ambitions."

"We urge the Iranians to refrain from such provocative
actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future,"
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

Oil prices briefly rose on the news about the confrontation
as dealers weighed the threat to oil shipments along the key
shipping route. Crude futures jumped 49 cents to $98.40 a
barrel before slipping back.